June 17 (UPI) — Firefighters early Monday were battling more than a dozen blazes throughout California, including a fast-moving wildfire that has forced evacuations north of Los Angeles.
The Post Fire in Gorman ignited shortly before 2 p.m. local time Saturday and has since burned more than 14,600 acres with about 2% contained, according to an update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which is better known as Cal Fire.
Some 1,140 personnel, 114 engines, seven helicopters and two dozen water tenders have been deployed to fight the blaze as it spreads southeast toward Lake Pyramid, which has been closed due to the threat, while some 1,200 people have been evacuated from Hungry Valley Park by the California State Park Services.
The evacuation order is for areas south of Pyramid Lake between Old Ridge Route and the Los Angeles County line.
“The fire is continuing to burn in a southerly direction towards the community of Castaic, making smoke visible to Ventura County residents,” Ventura County said in a statement on its emergency website.
“The fire has crossed into Ventura County, however the fire is not near any residential communities in Ventura County.”
An air quality alert has been issued for Monday by the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.
“Smoke from the Post Fire is expected to cause the Air Quality Index to fall in the unhealthy range for everyone,” it said.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said the Post Fire has destroyed one commercial property and threatened 10 others along with 50 single family residences.
No injuries have been reported.
The Cal Fire update said its personnel would be spending Sunday night reinforcing the existing perimeter to the fire’s east. On Monday, they expected the blaze to be impacted by high temperatures and lower humidity with winds of up to 50 mph to peak in the afternoon.
Another dozen fires were also burning Monday morning, the majority in Southern California.
The second largest blaze at a little more than 1,1300 acres was the Hesperia Fire in the county of San Bernardino. It also started Friday, though just before 7 p.m.
And like the Post Fire, its cause was under investigation.
It was at 20% contained.
Evacuations have been called for Arrowhead Equestrian Estates. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office said large animals can be taken to the Mojave River Junction or the county’s fairgrounds.
Smoke will be visible for miles, the Cal Fire San Bernardino Unit Public Information Office said on X.
“Crews will work throughout the night to continue containment areas,” it said.
[Incident Update] #HesperiaFire IR flight took place during daylight hours and has remapped the fire at 1078 acres and 20% contained. Crews made good progress on control lines around Critical Infrastructure, 500KV Transmission Lines and Natural Gas Pipelines. Evacuation
Warnings… pic.twitter.com/30zPDUx9wp— CAL FIRE BDU (@CALFIREBDU) June 17, 2024
The Junes Fire in Butte County and the Point Fire in Sonoma were the only other blazes larger than 1,000 acres, with the former at 82% contained and the later at 15%.
Nearly a half dozen fires were smaller than 50 acres as of Monday morning.